Syria restructures its army into five corps and names its commanders
Media sources revealed the Syrian Army's restructuring project based on dividing the armed forces into 5 corps, each of which has a number of military divisions according to a specific geographical scope.
Citing sources it described as "private", Syria TV said that the Ministry of Defense held a consultative meeting in the presence of the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff, a number of senior officers of the ministry and team commanders, as part of discussing mechanisms to reorganize command and control and raise the efficiency of the management of military operations.
The sources said that the proposed structure distributes the corps to the various Syrian regions, so that each corps assumes responsibility for a specific geographical sector, allowing for a more organized and coordinated "field management" between military units and formations, as they put it.
First Corps in the Eastern Province
The sources said that the Syrian military leadership is moving towards the creation of the first corps in the eastern province, which will include the 42nd, 66th, 72nd and 86th divisions, and will be led by Brigadier General Ahmed Mohammed al-Jassim, known as "Abu Muhammad Shura".
Al-Jassim hails from the city of Tabqa in Raqqa province, and currently commands the 66th Division, and he joined Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham at the beginning of the revolution before later emerging as one of the commanders of the axes in the Eastern Province during the "Deterring Aggression" battle that ended with the fall of the former regime in December 2024, and after the formation of the new armed forces, Al-Jassim was promoted to the rank of colonel on December 28, 2024, then he was given the rank of brigadier general and assigned to command the 66th Division, to be presented today as the most prominent candidate to lead the Corps First.
Second Corps Commanded by Al Jassim in the North of the Country
The Second Corps is in the northern region, which includes the 60th, 62nd, 76th, and 80th Divisions, led by Brig. Gen. Awwad al-Jassim, known as "Abu Qutaiba al-Shami," who hails from the city of Manbij, and joined Jabhat al-Nusra in the early years of the revolution before being wounded in a battle and amputating his right arm.
He served as the "Emir of the Aleppo Boys" and participated in the battles to lift the siege on the eastern neighborhoods in 2016, then assumed military positions within Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, before being appointed commander of the 60th Division with the rank of brigadier general in March 2025, and led operations in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyya, in addition to confrontations against the Syrian Democratic Forces in the north and east of the country.
III Corps in Central Syria
In the central region, Brigadier General Haitham al-Ali, known as "Abu Muslim Afs", will command the 3rd Corps, which includes the 40th, 52nd, 54th and 82nd Divisions. Al-Ali hails from the village of Afs in the Idlib countryside, and rose to prominence within Jabhat al-Nusra and then Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, and participated in the battles of Jaish al-Fatah in 2015 and 2016, before leading the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Brigade after the restructuring of the organization in 2020.
He was arrested at the end of 2023 on the basis of the "agents" case, then he was released in early 2024 and assigned to command the "Ali bin Abi Talib Brigade", and after the fall of the previous regime, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and took command of the 103rd Division, and is currently nominated to command the Third Corps.
The Fourth Legion, commanded by Mukhtar Al-Turki,
In the capital, Damascus, Brig. Gen. Omar Mohammed Jafci, known as Mukhtar al-Turki, will lead the 44th, 64th and 70th Divisions, and he was born in 1980 and holds Turkish citizenship, joined Jabhat al-Nusra in 2012, and took command of the group's military wing in Aleppo, and continued in its ranks after turning to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and then Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
He participated in the management of military operations during the Idlib campaigns, and was part of the operations room of the "Deterrence of Aggression" battle. After the fall of the previous regime, he was given the rank of brigadier general and appointed commander of the Damascus Military Division, and today he is nominated to command the Fourth Corps.
Fifth Legion West
As for the Fifth Corps in the western region and the coast, it includes the 50th, 56th, 74th and 84th Divisions, led by Brigadier General Munir al-Sheikh, known as Abu Osama, who was born in Maarat al-Numan, and joined Jabhat al-Nusra early and rose through the ranks in leadership positions, and led formations in the Hama sector during the Fateh al-Sham front phase, and then became the commander of the "Othman bin Affan Brigade" in Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.
He was arrested in early 2024 on the basis of the "agents" case, before he was released and appointed commander of the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Brigade. After the fall of the former regime, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and is currently nominated to command the Fifth Corps, which is responsible for the western region and the coast.
What is the issue of "clients"?
The case of "agents", or what was known within the organization as the "Coalition and Partners Cell" file, refers to one of the most violent security crises that hit the Headquarters in mid-2023, as the "Public Security Service" of the Headquarters announced the exposure of an internal "spy network" accused of spying for external parties, including the leak of military coordinates and the threat of front-line commanders.
Following the announcement, a campaign of arrests was carried out against more than 600 leaders, military and administrative figures, including prominent names such as Abu Maria al-Qahtani, Abu Muslim Afas and Abu Osama Munir.
The case turned into a humanitarian catastrophe after leaks documented severe torture to extract forced confessions, and the crisis culminated in the death of the leader Abdul Qadir al-Hakim (Abu Obaida Talhadiya) under torture before his innocence was later proved, which sparked widespread anger within the military wings and tribes.
In the face of the threat of defection or armed rebellion, in early 2024, the file was closed, the detainees were acquitted, they were released in batches , financial compensation was paid to the families of the victims , the interrogators involved in extracting confessions under torture were held accountable, and a public apology was issued to the leaders released in their homes.